Fennel soup with toasted fennel seed oil and horseradish

We love the idea of adding flavour to dishes with simple infused oils, such as a herb or spice oil, and the toasted fennel seed oil here adds lift and nuttiness to this creamy fennel soup. A crumbling of blue cheese or thin shavings of aged cheddar would also make a lovely extra topping.

Method

Main

1

For toasted fennel seed oil, gently heat oil andfennel seeds in a small saucepan over lowmediumheat until seeds become fragrant and oilis only just too hot to touch. Set aside to cool andinfuse (1-2 hours).

2

Meanwhile, sauté onion, prosciutto and garlicin olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat untilonion starts to turn light golden (15-17 minutes).Add stock and fennel and simmer uncovered untilfennel is very tender (30-35 minutes). Discardprosciutto and purée soup with a stick blender(or in a blender in batches, cooling the soup first).Season to taste. Just before serving, bring soupback to the boil, then stir in sour cream and fennelfronds, and season to taste.